If you asked anyone, they'd all say the same thing: Michael Dark was mad. This wasn't so surprising. After all, he certainly was. Born of the Dark family, locked away in Azkaban, thief of information, trust, and lives.... well, it was inevitable. Any man would've gone mad from just one of those factors; Michael had all three. But it wasn't just some shaky hold on reality that he had, some easily-exploitable paranoia or a disturbing but relatively harmless fondness of cutlery. No, Michael Dark's madness lay underneath seemingly-sound logic and iron resolve; he had the hardness of a man tested by fire and pain. He may have been completely out of his mind, but by Merlin he was good at being unpredictably insane. He had to be. Michael didn't want to be caught and thrown back into Azkaban. Not yet, and not ever. He had a goal, and a one-track mind that had led him here.

And finally, after weeks and weeks, the accomplishment of that goal was near. It was so near that he could hear the sound of their voices. His girls. Together and so, so close. Finally. They were both walking in front of him down a back street of Hogsmeade; he'd been following them for several minutes under the guise of a beggar until now, when there was no one else around. His pretty girls, so grown up that he had hardly recognized them, and the thought of what he'd missed because of the damned Ministry sent him into a small brief fit of rage until he got distracted by the way Beatrix's hair changed shades when she laughed.

But he didn't have long. He rushed forward towards his daughters, his muscle mass changing with every step, taking on a stronger and more suitable form for strong-arming two teenage girls down a nearby alley in one swoop. His face changed, too, the face of the man he'd chosen underlaid with a shadow of his real features. Too quickly for either of them to draw their wands, Michael crushed his daughters to him in a fierce hold that, once off the street and down the alley, turned into a fierce hug. He'd never considered that they might scream. Without thinking about it, he'd assumed they'd know him at once.

"Beatrix, Bellatrix," he said, and his voice was changing too. Hoarse with emotion, it was his own voice, suffused with wild joy and thick with potential tears. "Little Bee, Bella - "

[Outfit]

"Where are we going again, Bells?" Beatrix turned to her sister, their arms locked together and their strides swaying with their giggles. They were planning to meet up with Vincent and his friends, Beatrix believed. But she didn't quite know where... Or when. Time was passing by while she enjoyed her sister's company. Who else did Bellatrix ask to be there? Little things. She only had to think about little things. Life was too happy and simple to believe it was real. It was a shame that Bea didn't know what would be happening soon in the future. "Who'd you invite? Tawse?" Beatrix laughed, hardly forgetting the fact that the two danced the night before. It was all so fun and relaxing.

And Beatrix, not surprisingly, was used to trampling through back streets and alleys. Perhaps it was all her adventures with Daz. Or perhaps it was simply because that was the way she traveled: Like a criminal. She was adjusting well back into her Dark family behaviors. It was easy now that she was away from her crazy mother and her vicious rules. Of course, Beatrix never cared for her mother, and never cared what she said, somehow the rules at home and the rules at school had turned Bea into a nice young lady. Which was bullocks in Bea's eyes! People called her a goody-two-shoes, but did they ever stop to think "Hey, wait a second... Beatrix abuses her Prefect power, abuses her classmates, and is a total harlot". No, they didn't. No one ever thinks that... Maybe Devlin Matthews, though.

"I heard there was a new candy at Honeydukes, by the way. Perhaps we should force the boys to join us, hm?" Beatrix smiled at Bella. Bea was probably the top customer in that store. She would always visit there whenever she was in Hogsmeade (Well, besides on Halloween. She had no time for that), and she always bought a buttload of candy. In fact, she was making a dress out of candy wrappers for Mysti's birthday party. Something called... Skiddles? Skittles? Honeydukes had a new section for muggle candy. What would Ringo think of next?

Right before Beatrix could even giggle again, she felt something grab her. Well, someone grabbed her. She quickly began to thrash and kick, knowing very well that she was getting kidnapped. Or possibly about to get killed. Panic rose in Bea's small body and her hair turned into a bright teal color, what was she going to do? Ahh... Scream! She had to scream! He'd let them go if she screamed, right? It was worth a shot.

"Beatrix, Bellatrix,"

Beatrix's pink lips parted to let out the most blood-curdling scream, but before she could do so... The man began to speak. And... hug them? Beatrix shut her mouth and looked over at her sister, extremely confused. The teal faded and she went back to her normal state. Who was this guy? And how did he know their names? Of course, Beatrix hadn't been able to glance up at his face. Her arms and legs fell limp and she sighed. Perhaps it was just one of her dad's crazy friends. She hoped to the lord it wasn't Cin, because that would be just creepy.

"Little Bee, Bella - "

Beatrix began to recognize the voice... No. That couldn't be right. It wasn't one of her dad's crazy friends-- It was... Her dad. Was that even possible? No one else called Beatrix 'Little Bee' besides Bella... Her father always gave her cutesy pet names. No matter if he was a big, strong, tough guy. Her brow furrowed and she couldn't believe what was happening. "D- Daddy?" Beatrix finally spoke up, her head attempting to look up at the man without him breaking her neck. "How... Daddy?" The overwhelming joy began to show in her small voice. If it weren't for the fact that she knew so many criminals already, she would have been panicking again. But it was her dad! She knew it! And why did he smell so weird?

[Sorry, didn't realize this thread had been posted yet. XD!]

[Outfit]

Her sister's giggling was beginning to drive Bella mad. She'd been like this since she'd begun hanging around Vincent Pennyapple. How could Lil Bee act so stupid around a boy? It was unnerving. The morning had already worn thin on Bellatrix because Duke, her giant toad, had woken her up extremely early that morning to eat some Fudge Flies. There had been a couple of nightmares that night, none that she could remember, and when Duke woke her up with his persistent croaking, she'd let out a scream. What ensued were the other 5th Year Slytherin girls all waking up suddenly and getting angry with her. She hadn't been awake enough to jinx them and decided to feed Duke as an excuse to leave the room. She was thankful it wasn't too cold to go to Hogsmeade.

"Where are we going again, Bells?"

Bella was walking awfully close to her sister with her mouth and tongue lavishing the last sugar quill. She really had no idea where she was going so she took her time to think about it before removing the sugar quill from her mouth and answering.

"Honeyduke's. I've run out of Sugar Quills."

"Who'd you invite? Tawse?"

On their way from the ball last night, Beatrix had given the darker Dark twin some last minute information: they were going to bring one friend each to Hogsmeade. Her sister had invited Vincent Pennyapple, much to Bella's dismay, so Bellatrix had no choice but to invite someone along as well. The pink-haired Ravenclaw laughed at the idea that Bellatrix had brought Xavier Tawse. It was enough to make Bella chew on her sugar quill.

"As a matter of fact, I did," she said matter-of-factly. "He was the only suitable choice. Who else was there? Amherst? Ridiculous."

Bellatrix wasn't exactly friends with anyone at Hogwarts. Xavier Tawse had been civilized when she had dragged him onto the dance floor, so when he got back to the common room that same night, there sat Bellatrix waiting for him like a spider. She walked right up to him, thank goodness the common room was empty, and told him that he would be coming with her to Hogsmeade the next day and to meet her at Zonko's. He might not even show up, but if he didn't, he'd get the jinxing he should have gotten last night for calling her that horrible word... "perfect".

"I heard there was a new candy at Honeydukes, by the way. Perhaps we should force the boys to join us, hm?"

Not two steps later, Bellatrix was yanked sideways by someone extremely strong. A werewolf? If it was, her usual biting routine wouldn't be effective. She struggled against the arms and could barely see her precious twin gripped tightly in the other arm. Both of the Dark twins were dragged out of sight by a complete stranger, one who smelled very odd. Not five feet out of the way of others' sights, Bellatrix could feel the grip tighten. If only she could reach her wand.

"Beatrix, Bellatrix."

Did she know this man? She also glanced at her twin, completely baffled by the person. Was he hugging them? Beatrix hadn't screamed. That was usually her first tactic if the girls were in danger. Bella's was to bite and fight back. She was a self-taught expert at dueling, or rather at jinxing and hexing people. Why didn't her sister scream?

"Little Bee, Bella -"

Only one other person had the right to call her twin sister Little Bee. It was the source of where Bellatrix had come up with it. The younger twin suddenly began squirming horribly to reposition herself in his arms and look up.

At the same time as Beatrix, Bella let out a surprised, "Daddy?"

With her head tilted upwards, she could see how relieved he was to see them. Bellatrix hadn't seen her daddy in ages and it was ages before that when she hadn't seen him. He'd left and taken Beatrix with him. Jealousy rose and fell in a matter of seconds. She'd wanted to go with Lil Bee and daddy, too, but her horrible mother... her horrible mother wouldn't let her! Bellatrix suddenly started crying and threw her arms around the giant man to hug him tightly. She wouldn't let him go now. Who cared how he got to them? He was here now.

"Daddy, I missed you," Bella sobbed. "Don't let us go back to mum's! We hate it there! She's so horrible!"

She'd kill someone before she went back to that woman's house. If her daddy was out of Azkaban, they could run away and she'd never find them. They could disappear over the holidays and summer vacations to stay with their dad and no one would ever know where they were!

Michael was grinning from ear to ear as his daughters recognized him and began to hug back. Big tough bloke or no, this sort of happiness was enough to bring a tear to any man's eye; after all, it'd been years since he'd seen his daughters, bloody years, spent locked up in a dank maddening cell and knowing that they were with that poisonous bitch of a woman and he couldn't do a thing about it. As he held them his features changed completely back to the father they'd recognize, his own original form, and, funny colored hair or no, the family resemblance was very noticeable.

He dropped to his knees and turned his face into Beatrix' shoulder, mumbling something that sounded like "Thank Salazar" over and over again with his arms now around their waists. Then he looked up into their faces, and his smile was brilliant. "I got out," he said to Beatrix, voice hoarse, and to Bellatrix, "I missed you too, sweetheart." His hold on them tightened at the mention of their mother and his mouth went from a smile to a snarl, unconsciously.But his madness lay dormant other than that; he was too happy for anything else to matter much. "No. I won't make you go back, you won't have to worry about her, you two should come stay with me now. Our house  is dusty, damned, and dank; but it's our house, your house, forever."

He hadn't realised exactly how much he'd missed being called Daddy.

"Don't let us go back to mum's! We hate it there! She's so horrible!"

Beatrix was able to finally turn her head to her sister... So it was him! It was Daddy! She could believe what was happening. It was if everything just turned incredibly amazing. Beatrix could no longer believe how lucky she had been getting. First Pennyapple, then this? Did she take some potion of Daz's that she didn't recall? She bit her lip, and attempted to hold back the tears of joy that were threatening to ruin her finely done eyeliner. Beatrix felt like she was glowing (Well, besides the fact she was super pale in the sun and her hair color had reached unbelievable brightness), she felt weightless... Like she was floating (Perhaps it was her father simply holding her much too tight and lifting her up). It was unreal, she was dreaming. She had to be.

"No. I won't make you go back, you won't have to worry about her, you two should come stay with me now. Our house is dusty, damned, and dank; but it's our house, your house, forever."

To a normal person, this would have sounded completely terrifying. But Beatrix was always drawn to their home in Wales. The country was rather dark and damp and green and everything Beatrix loved. She missed the huge forests and plains that surrounded their manor... London couldn't compare. Finally, her tears finally cracked through her rather dreamy stare and she, like Bella, twisted herself around and threw an arm around her father's neck and another around her sister's shoulder.

"Daddy, it was awful! Completely awful!" She finally burst at him, but her dreamy smile remained on her face. She was much too delighted. She was much too overwhelmed with joy. Though Beatrix had originally felt betrayed and abandoned by her father, did that really matter any more? He was there now... Those past five years no longer mattered, really. "How anyone can live with that woman is beyond me!" She grasped on tighter to her two most precious family members.

And there was so many questions Beatrix wished to ask Daddy... Questions she would have to get to once they were done embracing each other. Which, hopefully, would be never since it was hands-down the best moment of Bea's life. It was too bad her father was a criminal, else she'd be flaunting around that she no longer had to live with a Chancelier.

"We could clean the place up... We could make it look like it did before!" Beatrix beamed up at her dad, tears still streaming down her face. If only they had an house elf that cleaned everything up when they were gone... Sheesh, it had to be a mess. But it added character and definitely gave off the Dark family vibe. Plus, hey! Who would look for a criminal in a worn down manor that had be inhabited for five years...? Uhh...

"No. I won't make you go back, you won't have to worry about her, you two should come stay with me now. Our house  is dusty, damned, and dank; but it's our house, your house, forever."


"We could clean the place up... We could make it look like it did before!"

It was really difficult for Bellatrix to imagine what it was like living with her daddy beyond the age of seven. Jealousy that he hadn't fought harder to take her with him and her twin rose up; she had always been upset that her sister got to live with their daddy while she was forced to model expensive dresses for her mum. The tears of joy at missing her father turned to tears from an angry, green monster that had welled up inside of her for years. But she couldn't hate Beatrix for any of it! It wasn't her fault! Was it...Daddy's? No, it was her mother's. Bellatrix wouldn't blame her father for any of it--though, if only he had tried harder...?

"I'll help, too, daddy!"

She suddenly felt like she needed to demand his attention. Once again, Bellatrix hugged her daddy tight as if she was that tiny four-year-old and nuzzled into his coat. He smelled so much like he used to, but with a little hint of criminal. Yes. Bellatrix Dark's father was in Azkaban. Ohhh the sweet imaginings of students flinching now. Her reputation would only grow from here. Of course, she couldn't tell anyone that she'd found her daddy again, but surely news that Michael Dark II had gotten out of Azkaban would raise an alarm at Hogwarts and she would become the most feared Slytherin in the entire school! Muahahahaa!

Who cared? Right now, she was the little girl daydreaming about her tyranny while she was snuggled up with her daddy and her sister. Oh, the joys of having a father again.

"Can you come with us through Hogsmeade, daddy? Ooh, can we spend the holidays with you? Pretty please?"

It was like asking for an ice cream sundae! Bellatrix just had to ask. She had to spend time with her true family: her twin and her daddy. Erin and Michael III would have been great to have around, too, but she wanted it just to be the three of them for now. That was the way it should have been many years ago and she would do all that was in her power to make it that way now.